Professor of Statistics Tarmo Pukkila was elected rector in spring 1987. As rector, Tarmo Pukkila cared about internationalisation and investing in research and, above all, researcher education.

Pukkila wanted to make the students active. Students participated in exchange programmes whenever possible – this being the era before ERASMUS exchange programmes. The rector himself visited the University of Oregon and brought back ideas.

Pukkila wanted to build closer external connections for the university. One new idea adopted at the University of Tampere was alumni activities, which involved the university starting to maintain connections with graduates and those who had found their place in working life.